"Not in Our Neighborhood" at History Theatre

The History Theatre original play Not in Our Neighborhood was scheduled to run in rep with Not for Sale in March 2020. We know how that story goes - both productions were shut down shortly before opening. But now, over a year and a half later, History Theatre is opening their new season with Not in Our Neighborhood and will present Not for Sale in February. Both plays deal with with redlining and segregation in St. Paul in the early and mid 20th Century, a local history that feels even more important and relevant now than it did a year and a half ago. Not in Our Neighborhood tells the true story of a prominent and successful St. Paul Black couple who in the 1920s chose to leave the Rondo neighborhood to move into the all-white Groveland Park neighborhood, and the discrimination they faced.

"Dear World" by Ten Thousand Things at Open Book

I consider myself a fan of musicals (although perhaps not quite an expert), but I had never heard of the 1969 musical Dear World that won Angela Lansbury her second Tony. It has certainly not seen the success of composer/lyricist Jerry Herman's other works, which include La Cage aux Folles and Hello, Dolly! That's hard to comprehend after seeing Ten Thousand Things' new production of Dear World, which reveals it to be a perfectly charming and lovely musical. But then, Ten Thousand Things productions have a tendency to reduce any work of theater, from Shakespeare to a Broadway musical flop, to it's most perfect, accessible, relatable heart. Under the direction of Jungle Theater's new Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen, with one-man orchestra Peter Vitale and a beautifully diverse eight-person cast, Dear World is a musical that's sweet, funny, hopeful, and just a little bit wacky.